Mel Tucker had a 35-minute Zoom meeting with media today. It ended a few minutes ago.
Some of the takeaways:
* Tucker said he is supporting Jacub Panasiuk in his decision to opt out of the season.
When asked if there are others considering an opt-out, Tucker said "I'm in discussion with a couple of other players as well right now that may want to opt out and that's their individual decision and whatever they decide to do, we're going to support them."
* Tucker had a very much a no-excuses outlook on the obstacles Michigan State has faced, including having had his team in quarantine for the past 14 days while almost all of the other teams in the Big Ten have been conducting enhanced practices.
"Overall, we have a football team that is excited to start camp and prepare for our first game."
* Tucker said some of his coaches feel his players are further along in the installation process, in terms of understanding the concepts, due to all of the extra Zoom meeting time, than they would have been under the usual restrictions on meeting time.
* As for trying to determine a starting quarterback, he said: "At this point, what's going to be important is what we do with the reps moving forward and I believe we have enough time to get our players, our quarterbacks and everyone else the reps they need to put their best foot forward to compete for jobs and be prepared for the season, and that's what we can control."
* Quote: "We have a hungry football team. Our players know that they have to compete and they are going to get what they deserve, what they earn, and it's a daily process.
"We have enough players here to have the type of team I want to have, which is a tough, hard-working, relentless, unified, unselfish football team. We have the guys here that are capable of doing that and we're building that. We're building that from the meeting room to the practice field."
Some of the takeaways:
* Tucker said he is supporting Jacub Panasiuk in his decision to opt out of the season.
When asked if there are others considering an opt-out, Tucker said "I'm in discussion with a couple of other players as well right now that may want to opt out and that's their individual decision and whatever they decide to do, we're going to support them."
* Tucker had a very much a no-excuses outlook on the obstacles Michigan State has faced, including having had his team in quarantine for the past 14 days while almost all of the other teams in the Big Ten have been conducting enhanced practices.
"Overall, we have a football team that is excited to start camp and prepare for our first game."
* Tucker said some of his coaches feel his players are further along in the installation process, in terms of understanding the concepts, due to all of the extra Zoom meeting time, than they would have been under the usual restrictions on meeting time.
* As for trying to determine a starting quarterback, he said: "At this point, what's going to be important is what we do with the reps moving forward and I believe we have enough time to get our players, our quarterbacks and everyone else the reps they need to put their best foot forward to compete for jobs and be prepared for the season, and that's what we can control."
* Quote: "We have a hungry football team. Our players know that they have to compete and they are going to get what they deserve, what they earn, and it's a daily process.
"We have enough players here to have the type of team I want to have, which is a tough, hard-working, relentless, unified, unselfish football team. We have the guys here that are capable of doing that and we're building that. We're building that from the meeting room to the practice field."
